Yankees Offer One-Year Deals to Three Players

Center fielder Curtis Granderson was extended a qualifying contract offer of $14.1 million by the Yankees.

Barton Silverman / The New York Times

By DAVID WALDSTEIN

November 4, 2013

The Yankees extended one-year qualifying contract offers of $14.1 million to Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano and Hiroki Kuroda on Monday, setting the stage for intrigue in the days ahead.

Each of the three players has until to Nov. 11 to accept or reject the offer, which would leave them signed for the 2014 season at the $14.1 million amount. If the players reject the offer, they still have the right to negotiate a new contract with the Yankees outside the parameters of the $14.1 million deal. But if they should go on to sign a new deal with another team, the Yankees would receive a compensatory pick in next year’s amateur player draft.

“We felt very comfortable having all three guys come back next year at the terms provided for,” Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said. “And we’re protected if they leave in free agency.”

Of the three players, Cano, the 31-year-old second baseman who is considered the Yankees’ best player, is certain not to sign the qualifying offer. Cano, who made $15 million in 2013, figures to make possibly hundreds of millions in free agency, whether with the Yankees or another team. He asked the Yankees for a 10-year, $310 million contract earlier this year, but the Yankees will almost certainly not give him that. They could, however, offer him a substantial contract similar to the one Mark Teixeira signed before the 2009 season, for eight years and $180 million.

The Red Sox’ Jacoby Ellsbury was offered a deal.

David J. Phillip / Associated Press

What Kuroda, a 38-year-old right-hander, might do is less clear. He has pitched for the Yankees for two seasons, often very well, and after the 2012 season, the Yankees offered him the qualifying offer for the 2013 season, which was $13.3 million. Kuroda turned it down and instead signed a one-year $15 million deal to stay in pinstripes this past season.

Kuroda, who prefers to operate on a year-to-year basis, could do the same this time around, again rejecting the qualifying offer but still reaching agreement with the Yankees to remain part of the starting rotation in 2014.

As for the 32-year-old Granderson, he could be tempted to accept the qualifying offer in the wake of a frustrating season. He was limited to 214 at-bats in 61 games because of two broken bones, one in his arm and the other in his hand, both a result of being hit by pitches. As a result, his numbers were meager, at least for him: just 7 home runs and 15 runs batted in, along with a .229 batting average.

Still, teams would definitely have an interest in him if he rejected the Yankees’ $14.1 million qualifying offer and went on the free-agent market, with the Chicago White Sox said to be particularly enthralled with adding his left-handed bat and solid outfield glove to their lineup.

Brian McCann of the Braves received a qualifying offer.

Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

On the other hand, he may reason that he is better off accepting the qualifying offer and then hoping that as a healthy, everyday outfielder in 2014, taking aim at Yankee Stadium’s friendly right-field dimensions, he can duplicate what he did in 2011 and 2012 for the Yankees when he hit a combined 84 home runs, the most in baseball over that two-year period. If he did that, he would be in line for a better free-agent deal than he could get now.

Cashman said he hoped that Granderson would take the offer and stay.

“With all the injuries we had this year, I spent a lot of time looking on the market for guys with power,” Cashman said. “They just aren’t out there, so we felt this was the smart move.”

If Granderson were to reject the offer and sign with the White Sox or someone else, the Yankees could go after Carlos Beltran or Shin-Soo Choo, both free agents, to replace him. The 36-year-old Beltran, a switch-hitter, batted .296 in 2013 with 24 home runs and 84 R.B.I. for the St. Louis Cardinals. The 31-year-old Choo, who hits left-handed, hit .285 with 21 home runs and 54 R.B.I. for the Cincinnati Reds.

Choo also had a standout .423 on-base percentage.

Choo and Beltran were given qualifying offers on Monday by their current teams, which might complicate matters for the Yankees. Other noteworthy players who received qualifying offers included Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Napoli of the Boston Red Sox, Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves, Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers and Ubaldo Jimenez of the Cleveland Indians.

Among those who did not receive offers, and thus can sign elsewhere without their current team’s receiving compensation, were Bronson Arroyo of Cincinnati, Matt Garza of Texas, Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies, Tim Hudson of Atlanta, Josh Johnson of the Toronto Blue Jays and Fernando Rodney of the Tampa Bay Rays.